Rodney Scott’s BBQ Sauce Recipe

Ozzie_Isaac said:

HeavyG said:

I have a copy of Rodneys bbq cookbook and I was curious what he wrote in that regarding his sauce. Here it is from page 211...

BACK in Hemingway we used to make barbecue sauce right next to the pit. The pots we used were too big to really fit on a kitchen stove, plus it was more efficient to use hot coals from the pit as our heat source. We'd put a piece of roofing tin down on the floor and then set some hot coals on top of that, and then we would put the pot right on top of the hot coals. When I was a kid, it was mostly men making the sauce-but I was always the designated stirrer.
You can still do it that way if you want to do all the cooking outside, but these days at the restaurant, we make sauce on the stove.
The two main ingredients are vinegar and pepper, so you have to balance them right. You don't want the vinegar to be overwhelming. Distilled white vinegar has less acid than other white vinegars, so it helps keep the bite in balance. Also, heating the vinegar takes away some of its sharpness.
When it comes to the pepper, you want a little spice, but you don't want it so overwhelming that you can't take it. The goal is to get an immediate heat that goes away just as fast as it started. If it lingers too long, you added too much pepper. You know you have it right when you taste a few drops of the finished sauce and, after you taste it, your mouth forms a kiss.
If you are cooking a whole hog, you'll need a gallon of sauce. But if you're using it for any of the other recipes, you can make only half a gallon.

MAKES 1 GALLON

1 gallon distilled white vinegar
1 lemon, thinly sliced
½ cup ground black pepper
⅓ cup cayenne pepper
1¼ tablespoons red pepper flakes
2 cups sugar

In a small stockpot, warm the vinegar over medium-high heat. After about 5 minutes, when the vinegar reaches 150°F on an instant-read thermometer, just before it starts to simmer, add the lemon slices and continue to cook until the lemon peels begin to soften and wilt, about 10 minutes more.

Whisk in the black pepper, cayenne, pepper flakes, and sugar. Continue to cook over medium-high heat until the sugar is completely dissolved and the sauce reaches 190°F, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to completely cool before using. Once the lemon is removed, the sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 8 weeks.

****

I've never made it as I don't like sugary sauces on pulled pork (I stick with just the basic eastern NC/VA type of sauce - usually just the well known "Shack Attack" sauce which I always keep a big bottle of at hand).

It is obvious that Rodney seems to play/tweak his recipe as he sees fit and that's a good thing. Maybe in his next cookbook "Rodney Sauce 2.0" will include some or all of the possible things mentioned earlier.

He sounds like Kenji Alt-Lopez.  Even when he videos making his recipe, he does it different than what is in his books.

That is what taught me it was okay to change things and substitute items.  I see recipes as guidelines/recommendations.

Also, are you only using them lemon peel, the flesh, or both?

RRP said:

dstearn said:

TechsasJim said:

I was hoping for pearls of wisdom but got a sh*t sandwich after reading through this.  What could have been nice and helpful turned to the opposite 🤦‍♂️

Regardless I’ll try the recipe and add/sub/delete what I feel like.  

You can thank RRP for that. This forum use to be a wealth of information but going forward I will just use the search engine.
Just don’t post a recipe and mention that you left an optional ingredient  out otherwise RRP will talk about how they used to handle things back in the good old days of this forum when there were 3 members. LOL

Not sure why you are wanting to prolong this pissin contest! If you would just go back and re-read my comment last night which even started out with "LOL" and ended with humorous emoji then I think you really got your shorts in a knot last night over NOTHING!!! 

Here is what I said...
LOL - then if you’re excluded 2 of his ingredients then it REALLY wasn't Rodney Scott's recipe - was it? Some here used to say just change one more thing then it becomes YOURS...BUT expect a fist fight from him if you try to post it as "YOUR" recipe! 

lousubcap said:

And the beat goes on!  ???

I’m done. No more posts.